On 2012-10-11, at 10:28 AM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> My original question did not refer to the Soviet Union but to use of the
> word to label parties or individuals in the capitalist world. Was the French
> Communist Party in (say) 1968 a "Stalinist Party"? If it was, what features
> identified it as suc? Was the SWP in 1968 a "Stalinist Party"? (If we follow
> Chuck G's definition it was.) If the SWP was not and the CPF was, what
> differentiated them?
>
> I want to know what is the justification for using the word "Stalinist" to
> label an opponent _today.
It's become more of an an epithet than a political characterization, typically employed by present and former orthodox Trotskyists against other Marxists with CP and Maoist backgrounds who advocate for alliances with liberals in mass movements and political parties. It's an echo of the strong criticism Trotsky and his supporters levelled against the Popular Front policies of the Stalinist Comintern in the 30's. But the term has little relevance to today's anarchist and non-affiliated activists, both those who favour and those who are hostile to allying with liberals. It began to lose its political utility following the "destalinization" campaigns in the USSR and pro-Soviet parties, and especially following the subsequent demise of these parties and the turn away from Maoism in the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1968, the French Maoist groups revered Stalin and could be legitimately described as "Stalinist", but the PCF and the other mass-based European CP's had long since distanced themselves from Stalin's regime, at least in respect to the repression associated with it. Most Trotskyists, however, continued to label them as Stalinists, despite their disclaimers, since they still adhered to a popular front strategy based on alliances with liberal forces, as against than the Trotskyist insistence on united fronts restricted to communist and social democratic parties based in the working class movement. Rather than representing a continuing fidelity to to the Stalinist legacy, however, the unshakeable commitment to popular front politics by these European and other CP's more reflected their steady evolution towards social democracy, which shares their perspective of reaching out to liberals, including within the DP.